章 145: 109: A wriggling spider and a distracted me

Today is the day we head for the second capture point.

"I'm off work and ready to go."

I woke up early and finished my breakfast by myself, then went back to my room with a bottle of water and some snacks. Today, I'm planning to stay here until the spider extermination is finished.

"I'm nervous."

The voice coming from the PC is the familiar Makoto. His Bible is supposed to be left in the village just in case. It's always nice to have another player who can take care of the defense in times like this. Since the villagers' voices can't reach the players if there's no Bible in the field, I've set up my PC screen to be shared with Makoto's. This way, I can check the scene while watching over the village.

"Yeah, I guess so. I hope it goes well."

"It hurts that the number of participants has decreased quite a bit. Will it be okay?

It was understandable that Makoto was worried. The members of this time's group are mainly men, with a noticeable absence of women.

The only major players in the village were Gams, Kang, and Niles, the former chief priest. Chem had tried to force herself to go with them, but Gams persuaded her not to.

Murus and Sudhir, who grew up in the Forbidden Forest but seemed to have a weakness for spiders, decided not to accompany the group this time. Instead, several men from the Elves and Dark Elves joined, so there was no problem.

There were also two teams of five hunters. It seems that even in other worlds, there are many people who are uncomfortable with spiders, and many women in particular are afraid of them.

"That giant spider is a carnivore and prefers human children and women, it's too scary."

"That's right. A cannibalistic spider that loves women and children is nothing to sneeze at."

It seems that the giant spider, our extermination target, has a habit of preferring human flesh, especially soft flesh of children and women. Knowing this, all the women refused to participate.

The characteristic of the giant spider is that it puts up a large web, twines its threads around the opponent and pulls them up and attaches them to the web. It then injects a neurotoxin into them and bites them whole when they are unable to move. It's a scene straight out of a horror movie.

Once caught in the strings, it is difficult to get out alone, so all participants apply citrus juice to their bodies beforehand. This way, if they were caught, they would be hesitant to eat because of the smell. In our human senses, the faint scent of citrus from food would increase our appetite, but since we were dealing with a spider, we didn't have to worry about that. In the end, only twenty-three men went to exterminate the spiders. The rest of them stayed at home in the village.

"Brother, I apologize for not being able to accompany you to...."

Gams walked up to his sister, who shrugged and apologized, and put his hand on her head.

"Don't worry about it. I'll feel safer if you wait for me in the village."

As an older brother, there's a part of me that's glad she won't be participating in the battle. As someone who also has a younger sister, I can understand that feeling. You don't want to put them in danger as much as possible.

"I'm sorry, I would have liked to join you, but…"

"If you wanted to, you could have gone. I'll give you a turn this time, okay?"

Murus and Sudhir stared at each other in silence. Normally, the two of them would join the battle even if they had to push their opponents out of the way and compete to see who was better, but this time they did not come forward.

"I'm asking both of you to stay in the village. If you two stay, I can go to the battlefield with peace of mind."

They both smiled and nodded at the same time, as if they didn't feel bad when Gams told them so. He used to be sloppier, but lately he's been speaking more clearly in important situations.

Lodis is the leader of internal affairs and Gams is the leader of the combat. Both of them are people I can trust with my life.

As the group left the village, I went ahead of them to make a preliminary survey of the attack points. However, we've only explored the area around the entrance, so I can only see a forest with spider webs everywhere. The territory of the giant spider is a deep forest with dense vegetation, and not much sunlight gets through. Such a forest with huge spider webs is a perfect setting for a horror story.

There are spiders as long as a man's arm here and there, but deep in the forest, there are also spiders that are bigger than an adult. Even though I was only observing them from a distance through a screen, the horrifying sight of them sent shivers down my spine. I can't stop thinking about Gams and the rest of the extermination team who have to face these things and kill them.

I put my hands together and bow my head toward them, whose steps seem heavier than usual. I've been peeking at the conversations of the participating members since yesterday, and none of them are good with spiders! Even if they're not into it, most of them are dividing it up as a job for the village or as hunters.

"Spiders. I don't like them."

"I don't approve of anything with more than five legs."

"I can't do it from a physiological standpoint."

I was relieved to see that both the inhabitants of the other world and the inhabitants of Earth seemed to have similar feelings of dislike, and at the same time, I felt more and more sorry. I watched a movie in which a spider-like creature attacked the protagonist in order to build up a tolerance for spiders, and now I understand the feelings of the characters who saw him off to the enemy territory in that scene.

"I hope I can be of some help."

What I can do for the extermination team is to observe the enemy territory in advance. If there's any danger, I'll let them know through the oracle. And then there's the "Golem Manipulation" to rampage through.

In the end, Gams and the others arrived without any incident at the entrance to the forest. The statue of God that Niles had carried on his back could be suddenly activated from here, but we didn't even know what was going on deep in the forest, and we didn't know where the giant spider guarding the base was.

The invisible area filled with black is quite large, so even if I activate it, I might run out of points first. So, it's better to refrain from using "Golem Summoning" until I find a monster that looks like a boss or after I've completed more than half of my search.

"It may take some time, but let's be on the safe side here and move together."

Everyone nodded at Gams' suggestion. Even the hunters, who were brave and used to danger, agreed with a serious look on their faces.

After applying citrus juice to their bodies, they stepped into the danger zone where the spiders were waiting for them. Normally, Gams holds a sword in each hand, but today he is holding a spear in his hand, brushing away the spider webs as he goes. The other hunters were also moving forward, albeit slowly, using sticks and spears to remove the cobwebs. It doesn't matter how long it takes, safety comes first.

"Spider monsters generally attack from the sky, but there is no guarantee that there are no other monsters. Please be sure to keep an eye on your surroundings as well as above you."

The hunters, who had been staring only at the sky above, hurriedly shifted their gaze downward when Niles pointed out that with a smile plastered on his face as usual. Well, Niles looks the same as always. I wonder if he's not afraid of spiders.

"Niles...aren't you afraid of spiders?"

One of the hunters asked Niles a question at the same time as if he had heard my inner voice.

"I'm not very good at it, but I'm not bad either. It was about three years ago that I saw a centipede-like creature with three human faces...."

"We'll talk about it another time."

The hunter hurriedly interrupts Niles, who was about to start telling him an old story. Personally, I'm very interested in the story of that monster, but now is not the time for that.

From time to time, I see large spiders in the webs above us, but the elves and dark elves are shooting them down one by one. The reason they struggle so much when the arrows hit them is because the arrowheads are coated with citrus juice. It's like poison to the spiders.

"Oh, my God, a spider!"

Still, there were too many of them, and some of them attacked the villagers and hunters, but as soon as they got attached to the body, they didn't like the smell and left, so they were cut down there. The citrus juice strategy seems to be working better than I thought, so it was worth the research.

There was no major damage, and if it was only a minor injury, Niles' magic would heal it immediately, so things are going well for now. We're about to reach the center of the area that was obscured by black fog. The encounter rate with spiders has been increasing for a while now, so maybe the enemy boss is close.

"It's about time, there might be a monster master, so please be careful. Again, the enemy's master is believed to be a demon hair spider, based on sightings. It is a giant spider with a head full of stiff hair and a large horn on its head."

They had already been briefed by Niles before they left, but he reminded everyone to be careful. The other thing to keep in mind is that since they are spiders, they can use their eight legs to manipulate threads to entangle people. So it's a nasty enemy to fight with a small group of people, but if there are so many people, it should be possible to rescue them even if the threads block their movement.

The important thing is to be able to fight without letting other monsters get close to you. So I killed all the monsters I could see on my way here.

"I guess it's time for me to go."

If the boss is waiting for us, it's best to defeat it at once with "Golem Summoning." I've also brought the silver basilisk Gochupicchu with me, so I'm well prepared to petrify the statue. Gochupicchu is set up to be a "messenger," so I can give him simple orders from here. She's as smart as Destiny, so she's never resisted my commands.

"We're out in the open."

An unnatural open space in the deep forest. The open space was large enough to accommodate a village of less than a hundred people, and only a little sunlight was reaching it. It's better than before, but it's still dim because of the huge spider webs in the sky blocking the light. The ground was littered with countless bones: animals, monsters, and even a few human skulls.

"It's a very typical place."

The perfect boss stage.

"Be alert of your surroundings. If you see an enemy, call out."

"Aaaaah!"

A scream echoed through the forest, drowning out Gams' attention. It was the hunter who had released the voice, but he was nowhere to be seen, even though he was supposed to be at the end of the line. Everyone hurried to look for him, and one of the hunters spotted him.

"Diagonally across the sky!"

The voice drew my attention. There was a huge spider with a twisted horn growing out of its forehead, pulling the hunter around on a thread.

"I need your help!"

"Get the arrows!"

As the elves and dark elves fired their arrows in unison, the demon hair spider stretched its two legs out in front of it and they were all entangled in the web-like spider silk stretched between them.

Seeing this, Gams threw the hatchet that was hanging from his waist not at the demon hair spider, but at the thread that was drawing the hunter in. The axe blade cuts the thread and the hunter falls to the ground. Niles, who quickly circled underneath him, caught him firmly.

"Good job, Gams! That's my cue!"

I ignore Destiny's cold look at me as I activate "Golem Summoning". I picked up the two swords I had prepared beforehand. The sword in my right hand has a sharp blade, while the sword in my left hand is a dull color that does not reflect any light. With the sword in my right hand, I cut the rope that bound the statue of God and jumped off of Niles' back.

"Oh, God's miracle here!"

Niles is in tears and praying, but it's not the first time the statue of God has moved in front of him. I've seen him do this more than five times now, and he does it every time. I'm used to dealing with it, and I raise my sword lightly.

Now, the problem was the enemy's position. He's on top of a spider's web that's more than ten meters above the ground, so my attacks can't reach him from here. Besides, the bristly hairs on his body were repelling all the arrows that came through the web.

According to Murus, those hairs are harder than iron, and the hair covering the body is a solid armor that prevents attacks. There is a good chance that the monstrous strength of the statue of God will be able to cut it off, but I wonder if the sword will be able to withstand it.

"But I have no choice, do I?"

"Get out of God's way and distract the enemy!"

Gams and the others threw spears and sticks in their hands, and the elves shot up arrows. Most of them didn't reach us because the distance was too great, but the enemy's attention was turned in that direction.

"Pigyaaah!"

A murderous glare was directed at Niles, but he smiled nonchalantly. Irritated by his reaction, the demon hair spider swung the thread with the rounded down to the ground. Four balls of thread came at Niles, but he didn't even try to avoid them and took them head-on. Huge balls of thread stuck to his hands and feet, but he didn't seem to be worried.

"Cut off the thread!"

Gams and the others rush over to cut the spider thread, but Niles stops them with his eyes.

"Don't worry everyone. I hope this bought some time."

That was directed at...me, the God of Fate, wasn't it? The answer is–

"Of course, thank you!"

Falling on its back from above the demon hair spider was the statue of god. While his attention was diverted to Niles, I climbed up the tree and positioned myself further up in the sky. I put all my weight on the sword in my right hand, and the blow pierces the opponent's back!

"Gawd!"

What I heard at the same time as the demon hair spider's scream was a metallic sound. The sword that had been used to slash through the bristly hair had been broken at the base.

He is desperately trying to shake off the statue of the god statue, but I throw away my sword, which has only a hilt, and grab the bristles with my right hand to hold on.

"It's not over yet!"

I swung the dull-colored sword held in my other left hand, kicked away the blade that was still impaled, and inserted the sword in my left hand into the wound. At that moment, the statue of God was blown away because I stopped operating it. What I'm doing now is giving instructions to the messenger.

"Gochupicchu, unpetrify!"

Following the order, what was unpetrified wasn't the statue of God but the sword that was impaled into the spider.

The demon hair spider, which was struggling violently, broke free from its web and fell to the ground. As everyone retreated from the scene, the demon hair spider came crashing down. Half of its body was crushed by the impact of falling to the ground, and it was convulsing. The monster's blood that spurted out from its entire body was mixed with another liquid, giving it a strange color.

"Is that the scent of fruit juice?"

One of the hunters seemed to be the first to catch a whiff of the scent. Yes, mixed in with the blood was a large amount of fruit juice. The sword in the left hand of the statue of the god was a stone sword, made of fruit juice hardened into the shape of a sword. It was then put inside his body and returned to its original liquid form, allowing the juice to permeate his body. This is the result.

"Okay, mission accomplished."

I researched my opponent's weaknesses and thought of a way to make the most of them, and the results came out. I'm glad I put my head into it.